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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 899
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 3510
Referred to Committee on AGING
Introduced by:
(AGE)
AN ACT CONCERNING SE NIOR SAFETY ZONES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 54-258 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2021): 2
(a) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of the general statutes, 3
except subdivisions (3), (4) and (5) of this subsection, the registry 4
maintained by the Department of Emergency Services and Public 5
Protection shall be a public record and shall be accessible to the public 6
during normal business hours. The Department of Emergency Services 7
and Public Protection shall make registry information available to the 8
public through the Internet. Not less than once per calendar quarter, the 9
Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall issue 10
notices to all print and electronic media in the state regarding the 11
availability and means of accessing the registry. Each local police 12
department and each state police troop shall keep a record of all 13
registration information transmitted to it by the Department of 14
Emergency Services and Public Protection, and shall make such 15
information accessible to the public during normal business hours. 16 Raised Bill No. 899
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(2) (A) Any state agency, the Judicial Department, any state police 17
troop or any local police department may, at its discretion, notify any 18
government agency, private organization or individual, including, but 19
not limited to, representatives of senior centers or other facilities serving 20
or housing senior citizens, of registration information when such 21
agency, said department, such troop or such local police department, as 22
the case may be, believes such notification is necessary to protect the 23
public or any individual in any jurisdiction from any person who is 24
subject to registration under section 54-251, 54-252, 54-253 or 54-254. 25
(B) (i) Whenever a registrant is released into the community, or 26
whenever a registrant changes such registrant's address and notifies the 27
Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection of such 28
change pursuant to section 54-251, 54-252, 54-253 or 54-254, the 29
Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall, by 30
electronic mail, notify the superintendent of schools for the school 31
district in which the registrant resides, or plans to reside, of such release 32
or new address, and provide such superintendent with the same 33
registry information for such registrant that the department makes 34
available to the public through the Internet under subdivision (1) of this 35
subsection. 36
(ii) Whenever a registrant is released into the community, or 37
whenever a registrant changes such registrant's address and notifies the 38
Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection of such 39
change pursuant to section 54-251, 54-252, 54-253 or 54-254, the 40
Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall, by 41
electronic mail, notify the chief executive officer of the municipality in 42
which the registrant resides, or plans to reside, of such release or new 43
address, and provide such chief executive officer with the same registry 44
information for such registrant that the department makes available to 45
the public through the Internet under subdivision (1) of this subsection. 46
The chief executive officer of the municipality shall provide such 47
information to any senior center or other facility serving or housing 48
senior citizens located in such municipality. 49 Raised Bill No. 899
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(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions (1) and (2) of this 50
subsection, state agencies, the Judicial Department, state police troops 51
and local police departments shall not disclose the identity of any victim 52
of a crime committed by a registrant or treatment information provided 53
to the registry pursuant to sections 54-102g and 54-250 to 54-258a, 54
inclusive, except to government agencies for bona fide law enforcement 55
or security purposes. 56
(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions (1) and (2) of this 57
subsection, registration information the dissemination of which has 58
been restricted by court order pursuant to section 54-255 and which is 59
not otherwise subject to disclosure, shall not be a public record and shall 60
be released only for law enforcement purposes until such restriction is 61
removed by the court pursuant to said section. 62
(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions (1) and (2) of this 63
subsection, a registrant's electronic mail address, instant message 64
address or other similar Internet communication identifier shall not be 65
a public record, except that the Department of Emergency Services and 66
Public Protection may release such identifier for law enforcement or 67
security purposes in accordance with regulations adopted by the 68
department. The department shall adopt regulations in accordance with 69
chapter 54 to specify the circumstances under which and the persons to 70
whom such identifiers may be released including, but not limited to, 71
providers of electronic communication service or remote computing 72
service, as those terms are defined in section 54-260b, and operators of 73
Internet web sites, and the procedure therefor. 74
(6) When any registrant completes the registrant's term of registration 75
or is otherwise released from the obligation to register under section 54-76
251, 54-252, 54-253 or 54-254, the Department of Emergency Services and 77
Public Protection shall notify any state police troop or local police 78
department having jurisdiction over the registrant's last reported 79
residence address that the person is no longer a registrant, and the 80
Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, state police 81
troop and local police department shall remove the registrant's name 82 Raised Bill No. 899
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and information from the registry. 83
(b) Neither the state nor any political subdivision of the state nor any 84
officer or employee thereof, shall be held civilly liable to any registrant 85
by reason of disclosure of any information regarding the registrant that 86
is released or disclosed in accordance with subsection (a) of this section. 87
The state and any political subdivision of the state and, except in cases 88
of wanton, reckless or malicious conduct, any officer or employee 89
thereof, shall be immune from liability for good faith conduct in 90
carrying out the provisions of subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this 91
section. 92
Sec. 2. Section 54-261 of the general statutes is repealed and the 93
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2021): 94
(a) The Court Support Services Division, in conjunction with state-95
wide experts in law enforcement, the treatment of sexual offenders and 96
sexual assault victim services, shall, within available appropriations, 97
develop a community response education program to be offered to 98
neighborhoods and municipalities that have been notified pursuant to 99
section 54-258, as amended by this act, that a person who has registered 100
under said section is or will be residing in that community. 101
(b) The purpose of such program shall be to assist neighborhoods, 102
including senior centers and other facilities serving or housing senior 103
citizens in such neighborhoods, parents and children to learn how to 104
better protect themselves from sexual abuse and sexual assault. The 105
program shall develop educational materials and community 106
information resources on prevention and risk reduction concerning 107
sexual abuse and sexual assault and the enforcement of requirements 108
concerning the registration and supervision of sexual offenders and the 109
notification of communities where such offenders reside. 110
(c) The program may include the following: 111
(1) An initial community meeting following a community 112
notification, sponsored by the Court Support Services Division and held 113 Raised Bill No. 899
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in conjunction with the chief of police, chief elected officials, the 114
superintendent of schools and other municipal officials of the 115
community, to discuss the implementation of the statutory 116
requirements concerning the registration of a sexual offender and the 117
notification of the community where such offender resides, to provide 118
information on the crime or crimes involved and to provide information 119
on how the offender will be monitored by the Court Support Services 120
Division and the specific conditions of probation applicable to the 121
offender; 122
(2) Information on how and where concerned residents may report 123
observed violations by an offender of the conditions of such offender's 124
probation; 125
(3) Resources to educate families, [and] children and senior citizens 126
in the prevention and avoidance of sexual abuse and sexual assault and 127
for parents seeking supportive methods for discussing relevant issues 128
with their children; 129
(4) Resources on when and how a community may wish to establish 130
a network of "Safe Houses" for neighborhood children to use when they 131
seek safe shelter or the creation of a neighborhood block watch or crime 132
watch; 133
(5) Resources for police departments and boards of education to use 134
in consulting with parents on appropriate school-based classroom 135
programs stressing safety, prevention and risk reduction and to use in 136
developing educational programs for parents to discuss relevant issues 137
with their children; [and] 138
(6) Resources for police departments and municipal officials to 139
provide programs stressing safety, prevention and risk reduction for 140
senior citizens living in the community or receiving services at a senior 141
center or other facility located in the community; and 142
[(6)] (7) Compilation and distribution of a list of child protective 143
agencies, child guidance clinics and rape crisis centers for families 144 Raised Bill No. 899
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seeking more in-depth counseling after a community notification has 145
occurred. 146
(d) The Court Support Services Division may apply for and receive 147
grants from the federal government or any agency thereof or from any 148
foundation, corporation, association or individual for purposes of the 149
development of the community response education program under this 150
section. 151
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2021 54-258
Sec. 2 July 1, 2021 54-261
Statement of Purpose:
To add senior centers and other facilities serving or housing senior
citizens to those notified of sex offenders in their neighborhoods and
provide education to senior citizens on how to protect themselves from
the threat of sex offenders.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]